Annotations for Team of Rivals

Findaway World LlcOn May 18, 1860, in the midst of the nominating battle at the Republican National Convention, four contenders--Lincoln, Seward, Chase and Bates--wait in their hometowns for the results of the balloting in Chicago. These political visionaries' national reputations towered over Lincoln's. When they vied with Lincoln for the presidential nomination and lost, each was astonished by the defeat by this relatively obscure and inexperienced prairie lawyer. Through short narratives on each of the players, we view private and public life in America as the slavery issue splits the country. By the 1850s, the four have intertwined with the creation of a sectional Republican party, then secession, and ultimately, civil war. Each of these men position themselves to lead the nation. That Lincoln emerges to win the race is the result of character traits forged by life experiences that separated him from his rivals and provided him with advantages that were unrecognized at the time. On March 4, 1861, the day of Lincoln's inauguration, having summoned his rivals for the presidential nomination to assume the highest posts in his Cabinet, Lincoln proceeds to effectively marshal their diverse talents to winning the Civil War. With fresh insights into the dynamics of 19th-century Washington social life gleaned from the papers of women in the Seward and Chase families, as well as with new research on the First Lady's service as a volunteer in Washington hospitals, we discover that Lincoln was "married" more intimately to several of his Cabinet members during the war than he was to Mary. In terms of the time he spent with them during the day, the long, anxious hours at night waiting for the telegraph to report news from the battlefront, the moments of relaxation shared, the stories exchanged, the emotions expressed, this is ultimately a story of Abraham Lincoln's mastery of men.

----------------------Simon & SchusterWinner of the Lincoln PrizeAcclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president. On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires. It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war. We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through. This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.

----------------------Simon and SchusterSoon to be a major motion picture, Lincoln, from Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning writer Tony Kushner, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the President and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.

The acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in a highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.

Each had energetically sought the presidency. Lincoln succeeded because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives.

This multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.